You've Got Mail
by SlipperbackTub
Summary: Violet and Syndrome become friends in an online chatroom.
1. Blindfolds

**Chapter One: Blindfolds**

* * *

**Jinxter:** It just seems sort of stupid to keep wondering on about the futility of life, you know?

**EngineerOverlord:** Obviously, you're beneath our extremely heightened intellectual conversations. ;)

**Jinxter:** LOL!

**Shadows_and_Shocks:** intellectual conversations, yeah right. Since when have we ever discussed anything other than death and destruction?

**EngineerOverlord:** We discussed the super trials at great length yesterday.

**bottlerocket101:** OH NOT AGAIN! Overlord, I'm starting to think your obsesssed with supers.

**EngineerOverlord:** I'm nothing of the kind.

**bottlerocket101** *you're **obsessed

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** That was kind of fun yesterday. I didn't like talking about the Buddy Pine trials though.

**EngineerOverlord:** Oh? Why not?

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** because he's going to get off scot free, and then I'm going to have to throw something at the tv.

**Jinxter:** LOL! I actually think he's kind of cute. :D

**EngineerOverlord:** You're right, I think he's pandering to the judge too much. The whole innocent act seems to be working awfully well though, don't you think? :/

**EngineerOverlord:** Cute?

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: My dad will probably throw the tv. And omg, he is not cute. He's buck-toothed and freckled and needs to stop wearing pinstripes. -.-

**EngineerOverlord:** Somebody's pretty riled…

**Jinxter:** I think he's cute, with big cheeks and he's pretty buff. I think he works out. OMG he looks amazing in pinstripes! XD

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Are you forgetting he killed dozens of innocent people and wanted to kill even more? Or are you one of those people who writes love-letters to psychos?

**Jinxter**: wow, calm down Shocky.

**bottlerocket101:** OMFG CAN WE STOP HAVING THE SAME CONVERSATIONS OVER AND OVER?! -_-

**EngineerOverlord:** I agree. Change of subject?

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Whatever. I need to go to bed.

**bottlerocket101**: Aww, cya Shocky!

**Jinxter:** I think you're the only person in this whole chatroom who still has a bedtime, LOL.

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Thank you, Jinx, for reminding me of my status as the youngest chatter here. Your tact and sensitivity astounds us mere mortals.

**EngineerOverlord:** :) Bye, Shadows.

**Jinxter**: LOL! Later, Shocky-poo~! Don't stay up past your bedtime! xD

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: uggggghh.

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** I'll try to be on tomorrow, okay?

_Shadows_And_Shocks has left the chatroom._

* * *

Shadows_And_Shocks, also known as Invisigirl, also known as Violet Parr, leaned back against the headboard of her bed and rubbed her eyes distractedly. The digital blue glow of the computer screen in front of her bleached her fine features and deepened the puffy circles beneath her eyes, although it couldn't destroy her prettiness entirely. At sixteen, Violet was a slender girl, with elfish features and large, unusually colored eyes – eyes so dark blue they became a rich purple. She closed her laptop lid and heard her computer powering down, the gentle motor huffing warm air onto her thighs. It was very late; the clock on her bedside table read 2:34 A.M, and she had school tomorrow.

Violet rolled over and slid her laptop under her bed, and then cuddled under her blankets to get some warmth into her arms. Going back to school wasn't something she looked forward to, not again. Tomorrow would be the third day of school, and ever since her social out casting last year, her recent days had been a sort of living torture. It wasn't physical – and she was grateful. Slaps and punches she was afraid of, terrified that she would suddenly lash out instinctively and use her powers. But it was the emotional aspect of it all. The snide whispers, the cruel snickering, it all gouged deep scars into her teenaged self. And some analytical part of her jaded mind told her that she was being melodramatic, that all teenagers went through this, but it didn't stop it from hurting.

Her online friends, however, they helped.

She had discovered them purely by accident, of course. A few months ago, she wouldn't have dared talk to anyone at such great length, but after weeks of growing accustomed to the rapid-fire, intellectually challenging discussions, she felt as though she could face the school year. And of course, it hadn't worked. School had been every bit as hard and painful as last year, even more so, perhaps, since it was still early on in the year and the bullies wanted to set their boundaries.

Violet had separated her friends into three categories: people like Kari, who talked on obsessively about hot men and giggled over magazines, people like her brother, who loved to needlessly antagonize, and…Engineer.

Engineer. Ah, yes, a man she knew only by his username.

He was smart, that much was certain. And there was a dark humor to him as well, a sort of mocking condescension which could be extremely funny late at night. Sometimes she flattered herself by saying he liked her, since he did spend more time talking to her than anyone else, but she knew he was probably some lonely nerd in his mother's basement. Part of her knew it. The sensible side, the side which wanted to toss her dark hair back defiantly and take the teasing in stride.

She rolled over in bed and buried her face in a pillow. What was wrong with her? There was turmoil in her private life and she was getting a crush on lines of text.

At least her 'public' life was better than ever. Invisigirl was just beginning to establish herself as the second half of the Dynamo Duo, which was a partnership Violet had formed with her younger brother, Dash. Between Dash's incredible racing speed and Violet's subtle invisibility and shield art, the two of them made an extremely good pair to fight crime. It was always sort of awkward, though, having to be home by six o'clock because of dinner and homework. So her superhero activities were limited to three hours a day, which people would eventually know as the mark of children in school. But it was nice while it lasted.

Her father, while usually wrapped up in the scandalous Buddy Pine trials, was finally back to his old self – the self her mother knew well but was almost foreign to the children. He fought crime almost all day, which didn't exactly put food on the table, but he was beginning to get some of his old endorsements back from companies. One of the things her father hated about the superhero business was the needless posturing in front of cameras, just so he could earn a few bucks to feed his family. Violet, personally, had been psyched when she saw herself on the small advertisement in the newspaper, but had hid it well. Supers were supposed to be humble, and it was an attribute she was still learning.

But so far, things were good. So long as she kept her brain out of her sixteen-year-old self and into her superhero alter ego, things were fantastic.

The chat helped her cope. That's what she liked to think. She'd only be on there until the teasing died down, and then she'd leave. It would be easy, if it weren't for EngineerOverlord.

_Who was he?_

That question nagged relentlessly at her until she fell asleep.

* * *

Buddy Pine steepled his fingers and glared at the computer screen, grinding his teeth in the darkness of his posh house. There wasn't a sound except the electronic humming of various inventions in his basement, and not a light except the bright glow of the screen in front of him.

It wasn't worth it, was it?

Talking online was severely draining, and thinking out every little thing he typed was boring as hell. Not to mention frustrating to decode the abbreviations and emoticons, but once he got the hang of it, it was rather like slipping into another world. Some of the people were downright ridiculous, yammering on about anything and everything until their fingers bled and he felt like smashing his forehead on the keyboard. Jinxter in particular was incredibly annoying, although it was _absurdly_ flattering to hear someone call him cute. He considered himself more classically handsome than cute, but that was her opinion. The media-attentive billionaire kicked his heels up on the desk in front of him and leaned back in his ergonomically designed swivel chair, examining the ceiling.

It was worth it, he decided. Just for the knowledge that he was toying with the daughter of his once-idol-now-enemy.

Violet Parr.

It had to be breaking some sort of moral law, to tinker with a sixteen year old girl this way. Especially without her knowing who he was – but didn't that make it oh-so-delicious? He smirked in the darkness, shaking his head. Children were so easily manipulated, really, but he couldn't deny he had some rather inventive conversations with the teenaged super. She was quick, and very careful not to say anything incriminating about her age, occupation, or location. She wasn't _stupid_.

Which just made his amusing little distraction so much more interesting.

That's all she was really, a distraction. His trial was taking up most of the media's time, and he adored the publicity. Reporters were hammering on his door, people were snapping photographs of him, and there was a steadily growing pile of fan mail next to his desk, which he read occasionally to perk himself up. The country was obsessed with him, and he had learned that playing the bad-boy-trying-to-reform made him more of a celebrity than being a superhero. Of course, supers all over the world had come out in staunch disapproval of his antics, demanding justice and his imprisonment, blah blah blah. So very utterly boring.

Which was what made people like Violet so nicely distracting. Mr. Incredible and Elastigirl had come out in several press conferences, loudly accusing Syndrome of death, destruction, and paying off the entire government system. He _was_, of course. He had the judge, jury, and even the _prosecutor_ in his back pocket, but he liked drawing things out. It made everything far more interesting, like a big messy soap opera instead of an actual trial. There was no such thing as an incorruptible human being – all you needed was the right sum of money.

His eventual acquittal would be excellent revenge upon the Incredibles – the final coup. He would teach them that humanity was nothing more than a slab of meat to be butchered and sold, part and parcel, to the highest bidder. It delighted him. But it was an indirect revenge, nothing personal, just prodding their faith in the people they protected. Nothing more. It wasn't _enough_, not for what they did to him. They destroyed his life, taking his girl and his dreams, and left him with nothing but a cheap act to parade in front of the world. Oh, the cheap act was keeping him fed and full of attention, but it was growing wearisome.

His _boredom_ was excruciating.

Enter Violet, his sweet little entertainment. Part of the fun was gone since she didn't know who he was, but that was what added a whole other aspect to it. He had blindfolded her, essentially, blindfolded her and bound her to some sort of crutch – the internet. A blindfolded Violet was a rather intriguing thought, and Syndrome smirked again in the darkness, tapping a finger against his lips. He had originally started to destroy her systematically, taking her down and turning her against her family, but he had discovered that she was still at that halfway point – half girl, half woman. She could twist and turn against the superhero lifestyle, or she could embrace it fully and completely Either way, she would eventually tip and fall right into his lap.

It would be dangerous to taunt the Incredibles like this. But he was a magnet for danger.

* * *

A/N:_ Hi everyone! So, this is…sort of a Frankenstein project. My friend Julia and I watched You've Got Mail together, and it got me thinking about a Synlet version of this. :3 Soo, yeah. I didn't MEAN for it to be dark towards the end, but it is Syndrome, and he's a sort of dark dude. It's awfully late here, so any typos, inconsistencies, or whatever, that's all mine. :D Hope you guys enjoy!_


	2. Junkyards

**Chapter Two: Junkyards**

* * *

"Not so fast, buddy boy," She commanded softly, stepping carefully around the broken glass to avoid crunching anything and alerting her position. He whipped around at her voice, his eyes dark and panicked through the eyeholes in his mask, and raised his gun jerkily. The jewelry he had grabbed from the smashed display case was strewn around him, but most of the more expensive pieces were in his black duffle bag. The terrified clerk was curled against the wall, sniffling quietly to himself and shaking all over, and the jewelry thief aimed the gun at him.

"Who's there?" The thief demanded. "Come out where I can see you!"

"I don't think so," The girl's voice said quietly, and there was a sudden crunch as someone grabbed the thief's wrist and twisted hard. The thief shouted in pain and dropped to his knees, letting the gun fall onto the carpeted floor, and the gun skittered away as if by its own accord. "Drop the bag," The girl's voice commanded - her voice was flinty and layered with a bite of acid. He did so immediately.

"Who are you?" He whimpered. "What do you want?"

"Put your hands behind your back," The female continued, and when the jewelry thief had his wrists crossed behind him, an unseen zip-tie secured them together. He winced at the sharp tightening, and yelped in surprise as the invisible force grabbed a handful of his black hoodie and forced him to his feet.

The bell over the door jingled abruptly as a short, stocky superhero came in, seemingly out of nowhere. He was breathing hard, and there was a cocky grin on his face; Dash could never resist running from crime scene to crime scene, especially on rainy days like today. It was a special talent of his to not get wet when he ran even in driving rain.

"Invisigirl, you got him?" He asked, trying to sound gruff and deepen his voice. His supersuit was a special new design from E, and it fit him well – instead of the trademark red-and-black, his suit was pure ebony and flashed as he moved thanks to special built-in microbeads. As he ran, the multicolored beads shimmered and danced, giving the appearance of flickering embers or glowing coals. His shock of blonde hair was fluffed away from his red mask, but even the mask couldn't entirely hide the freckled cheeks and smug grin.

"No thanks to you," The invisible girl said dryly, although she didn't sound annoyed. "Hey, bozo, you get to wait in the rain for the cops to show up. Lucky you." The thief groaned, and Violet jabbed him in the back to get him walking. "Dash, would you keep this brilliant Einstein outside while I deal with the clerk?" She said, and her younger brother made a face.

"_Invisigirl!_ It's not _Dash_, it's The Incredible Dash! Get it right!" He complained, hauling their prize outside.

"Yeah, yeah, sure," Violet mumbled to herself, allowing her curtain of invisibility to drop. She crossed the room and knelt next to the frightened jewelry store clerk, whom she helped to his feet. Violet's suit had also undergone an upgrade – her supersuit was the color of molten silver, and it mirrored almost everything she surrounded, enhancing her invisibility capabilities. Instead of a mask like her brother, she had a mirrored silver visor which shielded everything but her lower jaw and lips, keeping her identity completely secret. When Violet had a shield around her, the suit glowed faintly purple; E had gone completely nuts over the two of them. Together, they looked fantastic, like fire and ice or something altogether more mysterious. Violet had to admit she loved the way she looked and felt in her supersuit. It was almost like getting dressed up for prom, except with bulletproof spandex instead of taffeta and lace.

Once the clerk was sufficiently calmed down, Violet led the frazzled man just outside as they waited for the police. Already she could see the telltale blue-and-red flash of lights and hear the wail of sirens, and she was enormously grateful. Helping people and saving the day was something she loved to do, but after today she felt as though all she wanted to do was curl up in bed with a bowl of cookie dough and talk to her online friends. "Vi- Uh, I mean, Invisigirl, you wanna stick around for the questions n' stuff?" Dash asked uncertainly.

She tapped her visor and the time appeared on the left hand side of inner visor screen. "Let's not," Violet said. It was getting late, and their parents worried when they didn't come home before six.

When the first police cruiser pulled up to the curb, Dash had already sped over and dragged two police officers towards the thief before returning to Violet. "Race you home?" He asked with a grin.

"Uh, no," Violet answered tiredly. "Hey, we need to stop by the library on the way home, Mom wants us to bring that book back."

The sleeting rain thundered down on the budding superheroes, and Violet automatically pulled a shield around them, keeping the cold rain away from them. Dark clouds scudded angrily across the sky above them, and as they hurried forward the streetlights began to flicker on. It looked a little silly to see two young superheroes running down the street, bumping one another with their shoulders, but after all it _was_ Retroville. Dash's beaded suit flickered dully in the darkness, and Violet's sleek iridescent suit made her blend into the dim light – it was another day of superhero work.

* * *

_Shadows_And_Shocks has entered the chatroom._

**bottlerocket101:** SHOCKY!

**EngineerOverlord:** Just what I needed to brighten my evening. :)

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Hey everybody, what's up?

**bottlerocket101: **we were talking about the super trials AGAIN. -.-

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Oh, so I didn't miss anything.

**EngineerOverlord:** Did you see that piece on the news about Elastigirl?

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: no what happened?

**bottlerocket101:** they're gonna call her to the stand in the Buddy Pine trials, along with Mr. Incredible!

**EngineerOverlord: **What BR said. Also, Pine is under witness protection because the children of several supers have sworn to kill him.

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** I can't say I'm surprised. How many supers did he kill again?

**EngineerOverlord:** 47.

**bottlerocket101:** CAN WE CHANGE THE SUBJECT!? O_O

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Sure. I don't like talking about Buddy anyway.

**EngineerOverlord:** So what did you do today, Shadow?

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: Oh same old, same old. Someone stole my Biology book and I had to beg the teacher so I could borrow one until my new one comes in.

**bottlerocket101**: :( that's mean!

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: That's surprisingly tame.

**EngineerOverlord**: Are the bullies seriously bothering you, Shadows?

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** No. Like I said, it's nothing physical. Just silly little stuff like book stealing and name calling. Middle school stuff.

**bottlerocket101**: I was teased in school a lot, it wasn't fun. Swirlies and nougies. *shudder*

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** What about you, Engineer? Were you bullied?

**EngineerOverlord**: Not bullied, per se. I didn't go to school.

**bottlerocket101:** WTF!?

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** You weren't?

**EngineerOverlord:** No, I was homeschooled.

**bottlerocket101:** OMFG THAT IS INSANE! YOU'RE SUPER SMART AND EVERYTHING TOO!

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: Was it fun? I always wanted to be homeschooled.

**EngineerOverlord:** Actually no, it was terrible. My father wasn't much of a teacher.

**EngineerOverlord:** And you can be smart without being in public school, BR.

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: What about your mom? Did she teach you?

**EngineerOverlord:** No.

**bottlerocket101:** yeah but homeschoolers are so nerdy…and shy…

**EngineerOverlord:** I was a very outgoing child, actually. A little too outgoing, by several standards.

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** So you invented all of your stuff by yourself?

**EngineerOverlord:** That was one of the few things I was good at. My father owned a junkyard, so I was able to make things out of the scraps.

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Like what?

**bottlerocket101:** OMG so you were that annoying little kid always asking questions? ROFL!

**EngineerOverlord:** I think I'm going to head to bed, actually. It's late where I am.

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: Oh, okay. Bye Engineer!

**bottlerocket101:** Baiiii Engie!

**EngineerOverlord**: Don't get into any trouble you can't get out of.

_EngineerOverlord has left the chatroom._

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Well, that was sudden.

**bottlerocket101:** He doesn't like being personal I guess. PHHHHBT! :p

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** I should go do homework…

**bottlerocket101**: NUUU DON'T LEAVE MEEE~! Dx

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** Lol, I have an assignment to turn in.

**bottlerocket101:** Do it tomorrow! Talk to me. :3

**Shadows_And_Shocks**: Nope, I can't. My mom's calling.

**bottlerocket101:** you and Engie always leave at the same time…

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** I like talking to Engineer.

**bottlerocket101:** OMG YOU HAVE A CRUSH ON ENGIE!

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** What?! I do not!

**bottlerocket101:** You dooooooo! :D

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** X.X

**Shadows_And_Shocks:** I'm going to go do homework.

_Shadows_And_Shocks has left the chatroom._

* * *

Buddy paced restlessly in his sleek, opulent kitchen, his thick auburn hair still slicked back from a day in court. His pale blue eyes swept the tiled floor without landing on one place for long, and he had already divested himself of his sports coat, tie, and vest. It was chilly in the kitchen, and goose bumps were raising on his exposed forearms, but he didn't seem to notice. Every now and then, he'd chew his lower lip harshly as his past ravaged him – he hadn't thought about his old house in years. How easily had that stupid little Violet Parr dragged his past into the forefront of his mind? With a few quick words, and he was already feeling the sizzling burn of the cigarette burns on his back.

His father had owned a junkyard, a sloppy junkyard brimming with the perfect tools and materials for a budding inventor. The only problems were the pit bulls who chewed up his leg when he was seven, but he had fixed them. Fixed them good. After the savage dogs were gone, he could stay in the junkyard as long as he wanted. He was encouraged to do so, because whenever he stayed around the house, his father would do things.

It was a coin flip – if his father had been drinking that day, then Buddy would sport a shiner or a new scar to prove his idiocy. If his father had drunk a few beers, watched a game, and then got bored, he would take his son out places. Sometimes bowling, sometimes to a bar, sometimes just for a drive. Buddy remembered those days when it was just him and his dad, when his father would peel off the labels of the seemingly endless supply of Sam Adams; when his father took him to a club and left him with the curvaceous, sequined women who wore dusty feather boas and gave him five cherries in his Shirley Temples.

Social services had come when Buddy was eight – he remembered the dull, dreary winter afternoon when the police had arrested his father for possession with intent to sell, and given him into the arms of a fat, motherly woman called Sandy. Buddy had kicked and screamed, pulled against the restraining flab of Sandy's arms, desperate to be reunited with his father even as his fresh bruises split open again and dotted his shirt with blood. His father had caned him the day before in a drunken rage, but it had all flown from his mind as Buddy screamed and sobbed, cursing the police and the social service worker and everything he could think of.

It was shortly after that when Buddy discovered Mr. Incredible. His foster family had a young boy about his age, maybe a year older. What was his name? Oh, Sebastian. Sebastian Cole. He had been obsessed with superheroes, but mostly with Dynaguy and the Thrilling Three. Buddy had hated his foster parents and disliked Sebastian at first, but the dark-haired older boy had introduced him to the superhero fan clubs.

He hadn't just decided on Mr. Incredible. Mr. Incredible had _chosen_ him.

It was all supposedly random – the Mr. Incredible Fan Club was doing a contest. One lucky winner would be able to meet Mr. Incredible and take a few pictures together, and possibly get a few autographs. Buddy had saved up all of his allowance and stolen a good bit from his foster mother, Judy, in order to get enough money for thirty tickets. He didn't feel guilty about stealing from that thin, health-obsessed nut Judy; but he did feel sick to his stomach when somebody else's kid got picked. In a black mood, Buddy had yanked the heads of every G.I. Joe Sebastian had owned. For some bizarre reason, Sebastian never ratted out on him – he simply taped the heads back on and occasionally lost one during the more energetic battles.

But Mr. Incredible had apparently heard of the little boy who spent over sixty dollars trying to win a chance to see him, and had _arranged for a special meeting_.

Buddy crushed a pen in his fist, snapping it easily as he glared at the wall. He_ hated_ Mr. Incredible.

He had been overjoyed to finally meet his idol, his hero – in his mind, Mr. Incredible was his father. Only Buddy knew his secret identity, the secret identity that was his father – but he could keep the secret. He _would _keep the secret.

Buddy threw a coffee mug at the wall, heard the satisfying crash, and then threw another. The ceramic mugs shattered into dozens of pieces, but Buddy didn't stop until he had exhausted all of his ammunition. Breathing heavily, Buddy shook his head fiercely, trying to get his head out of the past.

His father, egging the dogs on.

His father, holding him clumsily as Buddy shook with a nightmare.

_"Come here and take your medicine!"_

Mr. Incredible, smiling nobly down at him while they posed for pictured.

Mr. Incredible, scowling at him.

_"Fly home Buddy. I work alone."_

His father. Mr. Incredible. His father.

He let out a low groan and gripped his head, lost in a torrent of memories.

* * *

**A/N:** _Aww...Poor Buddy! This is my take on his background - I know a lot of other people have other, nicer backstories for him, but this is my really clumsy exposition of our favorite supervillain. :3 Hope you guys like!_


	3. Strength

**Chapter Three: Strength**

* * *

She accepted the tray full of food and sat by herself in the lunchroom, letting her dark hair fall over one eye. The bubble of sound around her seemed high up and too far away to be bothered, so she dug through her backpack and pulled out a library book she had been reading. The Confiscation of Superpowers: Chaining Up Gods, by S.K. Libber, a nonfiction work describing the time when the superheroes had been forced into hiding. It was incredibly engrossing, with actual newspaper clippings and doomsday heralding's, and it gave her a special little flick inside to see her parent's names. There was a whole chapter devoted to Mr. Incredible, as it was his brave, selfless actions which had prompted the slide into the superhero ban. Violet poked at her food as she lost herself in the pages, purple eyes half closed as she examined the grainy photograph of her father angrily jabbing a finger towards the man he was suing him.

Violet was chewing a wedge of mac-n-cheese when she heard an earth-shattering squeal break the cocoon of sound in the canteen. A girl with thick, unruly brown hair threw herself away from a sturdy geek who was grinning widely at her. "Oh oh oh!" The girl shrieked, laughing while she did her impersonation. "Don't touch my perfect body! I'm too pure for you!" The whole table erupted in laughter.

The superhero at the far table watched impassively, pretending it didn't hurt.

The messy-haired brunette met Violet's eyes and giggled nastily, twirling a strand of hair around her finger as she cocked her chin defiantly. She nudged the girl next to her, and the two of them looked at Violet, openly laughing. "Cover your ears, Violet!" A deep male voice shouted from somewhere. "Don't want to stain your virgin ears!"

In the center of the lunchroom, the popular crowd – the cheerleaders and jocks – looked up, irritated. "Oh pipe down, Amber," Somebody groaned. "Let it rest."

Amber tossed her brown hair over her shoulder and began talking loudly. "Are you guys all ready for the party on Saturday?" She cooed.

There was a general whoop from the rowdy table.

"It's gonna be sick," She promised, shaking her hair away from her low-cut blouse. "My parents are gone for the weekends, there's gonna be beer and everything." Amber lowered her lashes suggestively, snuggling up to the stocky boy next to her.

Violet went back to her book, making sure nothing showed on her face. They were taunting her again, but it didn't matter. Books were more important, and she could always tune them out when it got too loud. Besides, parties and beer weren't her speed. She kept telling herself this as she turned a page.

"Ohmigod!" Said a voice above her, and Violet flinched as she looked up. Amber took a seat across from her, smiling her crooked-toothed smile. "You're always reading. Don't you ever get out? Or are you too high up on a platter to come down and party with the rest of us losers?"

"Something like that," Violet said, but didn't meet Amber's eyes.

"Or maybe you don't want to spoil your reputation as a prude," Amber grinned. "Come on, come to the party. My brother will be there," She said sweetly.

Violet couldn't help but look up. "Tony?"

"Yup," Amber said. "He'll be there, and who knows? Maybe he'll get drunk enough to tap your skinny ass."

Violet felt a hot blush bolt itself to her cheeks. "Shut up, Amber," She muttered.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot I was talking to Saint Violet," Amber preened as she got up, and then sashayed back to her raucous table. "She said no, you guys!" She shouted as she approached. "Too busy stalking my brother, I guess!"

Amber turned to see Violet's reaction, but Violet had disappeared.

Tony Rydinger watched the actions of his sister with a sharp, angry glare. She was becoming more and more out of line ever since their parent's divorce, and although she never spoke about it, Tony was positive she was jealous of Violet. He had invited Violet over the house a few times, and each time Amber had been downright abusive – she was milder while school was in session, but Tony liked Violet, and wanted to do something about it. Violet was a nice girl, shy and skinny, but didn't really do anything to hurt anyone. And besides, what she had done wasn't…that bad. He could see her side, and half the school could as well. Either people didn't know Violet and didn't care what she'd done, or knew her and hated her. It was stupid.

Tony deliberately got up and looked for Violet, but for some reason she had pulled one of her famous vanishing acts and disappeared. Her food and library book were still there, so he went over to her table to gather them together before his sister got a hold of them. Violet held her breath as she watched Tony come within two feet of her, and could have sworn her heart stopped when he began gathering her books to be put away. Amber flounced over, scowling at her older sibling. "What. Are you doing." Amber hissed between clenched teeth. "Put that stuff down!"

"What's with you, Amber?" Tony snapped back. "She never did anything to you."

"Oh, only stole my boyfriend and my brother," Amber snarled. "Only dumped Pepsi down my blouse when I caught her with a photograph of you. Only little things like that!"

"Stay away from her, Amber," Tony warned. "She's a nice girl, all right?"

Violet fought to breathe, biting her lower lip hard.

"Yeah, real nice," Amber said sarcastically. "Stay away from her, okay? She's like some sort of freaky saintly man trap. You need to get rid of her."

"Look, Amber, it's not like I'm dating her!" Tony sighed, exasperated. "She's a nice girl, okay? There's nothing going on between us!"

Violet felt like her heart split in two. She wanted to balk and scream and throw Amber against the wall. But just like a deer in the headlights, she stood perfectly still, riveted by her oncoming doom.

"Oh there's something going on between you two," Amber said threateningly. "And if you don't make her come to that party, I will disown you. Okay?"

"I won't do anything of the kind," Tony replied flatly. "Like I said, she's just a friend."

"If she's just a friend, then bring her around to the party. We're going to fix her and make sure our boyfriends are safe."

Amber turned on her heel and stalked away, back to her stocky boyfriend whom she immediately engaged in violent tonsil hockey. Violet bit her fist to keep herself from screaming, to keep herself from encasing Amber in a shield and flinging her across the room so she could crack her skull on the floor. But she didn't, she remained frozen by Tony's sympathy, his pity-love for her, watching him load her books into her bag and throw the remains of her lunch into the garbage. It was only when he had left the lunchroom that she dared move and follow him outside.

Once she was safely in the girl's bathroom, Violet reappeared and hugged herself. There were tear tracks on her face but she wiped them away quickly. She had to remain completely emotionless – nobody could know what was going on. Tony pitied her, as he always pitied the subjects of his sister's torment. Violet ground the heels of her hands against her temples and tried to stop the purple crackle from forming on her fingertips – her memory shuttered past her eyes in frames. The memory of that stupid party, that one night – how had that been her fault? How had any of that been her fault?

She turned on the cold water and splashed some on her face, washing away the salty tears and the smudges of memories. That night hadn't happened in her head; she mentally flushed it out of her system for perhaps the thousandth time. All she needed was some venting to her friends, which was all. It occurred to her that she was becoming more and more dependent on her online friends, the people whom she didn't even know. They could be lying to her all the time.

And yet somehow she didn't think so.

Violet exhaled and went back into the lunchroom, ignoring the catcalls supremely, and slid her book bag over her thin shoulders. She didn't even spare the noisy table a glance, and instead walked straight past them towards the doors.

What didn't kill her would make her stronger.

* * *

The courtroom was packed, as always; the place was a complete media circus, especially with all of the superheroes passing in and out. Most supers stopped by at least once a week to check up on the sluggish trial and make an appearance with the press to show their support. Today the crowd was especially thick, since the plaintiff was about to rest and the last few witnesses would be the most important. Elastigirl and Mr. Incredible were two of the final ones, and seeing as they would be the only two superheroes testifying, the reporters were thick as flies.

Elastigirl didn't sit with Mr. Incredible, but sat off to the side. Behind them sat the Dynamic Duo, Invisigirl and The Incredible Dash – rumored children of Mr. Incredible, although nothing was proven. Their supersuits caught the light in a million different ways, making The Incredible Dash flicker with orange and red light, and Invisigirl practically blend into the background. Sitting next to the Dynamic Duo was Frozone, the legendary friend of Mr. Incredible. Edna Mode, most fashionable designer of superhero wares, was also attending court that day, smoking a cigarette with a long holder and shooting smug looks at Elastigirl.

"All rise!"

Everyone jumped to their feet as the thin, balding judge walked up to the chair and took it, adjusting his billowing black robes as he did so. Judge Cambridge was a minor celebrity in these proceedings, and even though he shelled walnuts while listening to testimonies, and had interrupted the lawyers several times in open court when they were too long winded, the public still loved him. The jury filed in after him – seven very ordinary men, and five very ordinary women. After they had taken their seats, the doors blew open with an explosive bang, making everyone jump.

It was his custom to arrive fashionably late, and it was also his routine to pause for a moment just after his dramatic entrance, to allow more photographs to be taken of him. He actually winked charmingly at one of the slender female reporters and strode confidently towards the defense table, his expensive shoes clicking on the well-polished floors. His orange hair was swept cleanly back away from his freckled face, and he toyed with a cufflink idly as if already bored by the proceedings. As he walked, he paused for a fraction of a second, turning his head to meet Invisigirl's gaze.

Violet stifled a gasp as she met Syndrome's eyes behind her visor.

He offered a little smile – nothing more than a quirk of his lips, and kept walking until he took a seat by the defense table. Violet felt her heart thump into overdrive, and a blush hit her cheeks hard. She hated him – he had tried to kill her and her whole family. But was it the shy girl coming out? Anyone who showed interest in her made her blush.

Except for Jack Hutch. But he didn't count.

She gritted her teeth and folded her hands tightly in her lap, staring straight ahead. The jury seemed exhausted – they had been sequestered for almost a month now, and they were cranky and irritable with less than half the trial over. Violet tried to focus on the man who was calling her mother's name, but it was difficult. Buddy Pine's little smile stuck in her mind, dredging up memories of something she had tried to repress and couldn't quite remember in full.

Someone called Elastigirl to the stand, and Violet sat straighter, looking towards her mother's familiar face as she was sworn in. Elastigirl took a seat on the stand, crossing her legs and tapping her gloved fingers on the polished oak railing next to her. A black harlequin mask obscured her identity, and it had been contested violently on whether or not she should testify as a superhero or not.

Violet began listening as Elastigirl walked the jury through what happened – her husband went missing, Syndrome attempted to kill him, and she had to mount a rescue attempt. She was quick on her feet and engaging, and for the first time in a while the jury was fully engrossed. Violet watched her mother with a swell of pride, knowing that at least her testimony would help crumble the unwavering public opinion of Buddy Pine, and hoping that she would help put him behind bars. Despite her best intentions, her mind began to drift.

She hadn't been in the chatroom for a few days, and after yesterday's crossed-swords with Amber, the need for social interaction was becoming an almost physical need. It was almost an addiction, she was ashamed to say; but as soon as she got home, there was a bag of potato chips and a humming laptop waiting for her. She could get on, maybe vent a little to Engineer, and then try to sleep. Sleep was elusive these days.

"Excuse me, miss? This is for you." A clerk whispered, passing her a folded slip of yellow paper. It had been torn from a legal pad, and Violet unfolded the paper with a furrowed brow. Who had it come from?

_Looking good, Violet._

Syndrome.

She wadded up the paper and clenched it in her fist, her gloves muffling the crinkling noise. What was he doing? Was he that confident of his win that he could just pass notes to the children of his victims and flirt with them? Two attempts had already been made on his life, and Violet couldn't help but feel assuaged that there would be another one before too long. Still, the blush on her cheeks told a different story._  
_

Male attention had always been her weak spot.

* * *

_**A/N:** And in true style, I present to you possibly the SUCKIEST chapter in the history of suckitude! But no matter. Obviously, what happened to Violet is pretty much out in the open. Poor darlin'. Looks like my light'n'fluffy story turned dark pretty fast, huh? _


	4. Admirers

_**Chapter Four: Admirers**_

* * *

_**From:**  
__**To:** sylphinshadows  
**Subject:** Mr. Incredible Clippings  
_

___Dear Friend,  
____Here's those clippings you wanted, I had to scan though my computer for a minute before I could find them. Haven't looked at these in a while, but I think they're pretty interesting, especially the third one. It's a little scary to think that the little boy in the photo almost killed him.  
_

___Yours,  
____EngineerOverlord_

* * *

_**From:** sylphinshadows  
**To:**  
**Subject:** re: Mr. Incredible Clippings  
_

___Dear Engineer,  
It is a little creepy to look at Buddy Pine when he was growing up. I had no idea that Mr. Incredible dated Apogee, that's a little surreal. Is it just me, or does Mr. I look a little smothered in the second picture?  
_

___On a different note, I think you'll be gratified to know that the vaguely threatening advances at my welfare have mostly stopped. And I'm sorry I haven't been able to log in lately, my computer's been really lagging and my mother is worried about me. She thinks I'm going to be unsociable when I get older, or something.  
_

___Sincerely,  
____Shadows_

* * *

_**From:**  
**To:** sylphinshadows  
**Subject:** re: re: Mr. Incredible Clippings  
_

___Dear Friend,  
I don't know how he went from Apogee to Elastigirl. Wonder if they ever got married? And LOL, he does look a little smothered. Then again, Apogee wasn't known for being subtle.  
_

___Oh, and if you're having trouble with people at your school, just inform me, and I'll mail you my new rocket with the laser sighting. It's a nifty little thing, good for a small explosion.  
_

___Obviously, your mother has a skewed idea of a social life. I think she'd prefer you at home on the computer than out clubbing with men you barely know.  
_

___Yours,  
Engineer_

* * *

Violet closed her laptop lid hastily, blushing to the roots of her hair. The chatroom had announced the beginning of their new updates, and while bottlerocket and Jinxter disappeared into a wormhole of cyberspace, Engineer asked for her email so they could keep in touch. She had paced around the house for days before answering, chewing her fingernails and trying to do tasks and leaving them unfinished. It would be incredibly risky, talking to Engineer and Engineer alone, but after the first couple of awkward exchanges they settled back into their old rhythm. He mentioned he had some scanned newspaper clippings of Mr. Incredible's heydays, and Violet was thrown by the sheer amount of material he had. Suspicions kept niggling at her mind; the only people with these many resources would be superheroes themselves, or employees for superheroes. There were several times when she nearly asked him if he worked for a superhero, but decided against it.

They had a good thing going.

She pressed a button on the side of her closet door and her clothing racks flipped out of the way, compressed into the walls as her tiny little lair emerged. Her supersuit was hanging on the chrome mannequin, as always, with her gloves and boots neatly stored beneath it. Dash would be home from school any minute, and she had wasted enough time obsessively re-reading Engineer's latest emails. It was one thing to chat with him, and quite another to spend exclusive time swapping stories. Violet had created a private email specifically for that purpose, for safety reasons.

The front door slammed, and Violet hastily zipped up her mirrored supersuit. E had thankfully sewn the zipper on the side, so she didn't need to fumble behind her while she suited up. Violet pulled her hair into a ponytail and shoved herself into her boots, tucking her helmet under her arm as she went downstairs to meet Dash. He threw his backpack on the couch and smiled smugly at his older sister. "Well, Edith totally digs me," He grinned.

"In your dreams," Violet muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Nope, she asked me to come over her house tomorrow to go over homework! That's the way a girl asks a guy out, you know, in case you need some pointers." Dash shouted as he pounded upstairs to his room.

"Give me a break! She's like the smartest girl in your school, there's no way she's into someone like you," Violet said, pulling her helmet over her head and flipping down the visor. Instantly, a web of green lines mapped the room, pulsing as the helmet searched automatically for hidden bugs or people. After a second, the search came up clean. The time, date, and temperature flipped in her vision, and then retired to the upper left hand corner of her screen.

"Oh c'mon, there's no way a girl can resist moi's charm," Dash said, zipping out of his room and nearly sending his sister flying down the stairs. He must have dressed in record time, because he was already in his beaded, flickering suit. "Race you to the telephone pole!"

"No fair! You had a head start!" Violet called, but she wasn't quite into it. Competition with Dash was something she nearly always lost, and his remark about asking a guy out stung, but only slightly. She could ask Tony to come over her house, do some homework, just a casual date with her parents' home. Then maybe she could ask him out to a movie, just as friends, they'd buy their own popcorn. Nothing major. Then again, Amber's face swam nauseatingly in her mind's eye, and she hurried after Dash, deciding against her newborn plan before it had even begun.

They hadn't been running towards downtown long when her helmet chirped digitally. "Reporting on scanner: Fire at 103 Main Street, police already on site."

"Hey, Dash!" Violet called, swerving down a side street. "This way! There's a fire on Main Street!"

He, of course, raced past her down the alley towards Main Street, and already Violet could smell the smoke in the air. It crinkled her nose, and her eyes would have watered if not for her helmet. She ran after Dash as best she could, trying to keep up with the flaming blur, and skidded to a halt at the end of the alley to catch her breath.

It was one of the bigger, nicer apartment complexes in the downtown area – thick plumes of black smoke were already clawing at the sky, and orange flames licked around the scorched bricks. There were flashing lights everywhere, from police cruisers, fire trucks, and ambulances; stretchers with kicking, sobbing victims were already being loaded into cars, and Violet spotted Dash darting towards the flames. She followed him, but seeing as she didn't have super speed or a frictionless suit, one of the police officers caught her by the shoulder.

"Ma'am, don't go in yet! It's too hot, let the firefighters handle it!" It was the Chief, his gray moustache twitching with worry. Obviously, he didn't like the idea of a young teenager, despite having superpowers, running into a burning, collapsing building.

Violet flickered a shield around herself. "Thanks for your concern, but we'll be fine," She said, and headed towards the blaze. Dash was already coming out, dragging a man by the arm, stained with soot. His wavy blonde hair was crispy, but he barely dropped the coughing man on the pavement before streaking back into the building. Violet plunged into the fire with her teeth gritted.

Even with the protection of her shield, the heat was immense. She could feel the pressure thundering on all sides, and her ultimate instinct was to get out, fast. A charred timber collapsed from the roof, thudding on her shield and bouncing harmlessly off it, and Violet swallowed down her fear. If she didn't hurry, she would bake alive in this place, shield or no shield. The elevator was a blacked mess in the center of the room, and she saw the stairs sway, teetering in their foundations. What if there were people trapped on upper floors?

Violet took a chance, and ran up the stairs.

With each step, she could feel the building creak painfully, but there was a noise – a tinkling cry beneath the suffocating noise of the fire. It was growing weaker and weaker, but Violet strained her ears hard and followed it to a third floor apartment. The flames weren't as bad up here, but the smoke was thick as soup and fogging everything. She couldn't smell it, thanks to the shield, but it obscured her vision horribly.

She booted open the door and rushed in, discovering a chubby little hand thrown out from underneath the bed. There was an unconscious toddler clutching an unconscious cat, cowering under the bed. A shield sprang up around the infant and his pet, and Violet ransacked the rooms in search of anyone else. Finding nothing, she moved on, towing the two behind her, knowing they had a small quantity of fresh air inside the bubble.

Within minutes, she had routed out a small dog, an old man lying on the floor, and a lost young woman who was sobbing and coughing like a dog, stumbling around in the corridors. All three she guided outside into the smoky air, releasing the force fields she had around all five, and patted the little boy on the back as he woke up groggily. Dash was helping several of the people he had rescued into ambulances, and there was that familiar smug smirk on his face as he sidled over to his partner. Violet boosted the infant into the ambulance, where a rubber mask was settled over his nose and mouth.

"I saved five more people than you," Dash said cheekily. Violet tucked her hair behind her ears.

"Come on, I saved a baby, that's gotta be worth double points," Violet protested.

"Nuh-huh!" Dash pouted, folding his arms.

"Last week you saved a baby girl from the ocean liner disaster and you said it was worth double points! You're so unfair, Dash!"

"It's not Dash, it's the Incredible Dash!"

"More like the incredible doofus!"

The police officers watched as the two superheroes raced off down the street, ignoring the thanks and praise, heading off to squabble at the next disaster.

* * *

Hours later, Violet was curled on the couch, her finished homework neatly stacked on the kitchen table for her parent's to flip through, and wearing an oversized purple silk kimono she happened to adore. Her thick black hair was still wet from her shower, and she had it tucked up in a knot at the base of her neck as she hugged a pillow to her middle. The Godfather II was playing on the den TV, and unfortunately she was the only one watching it; lately, she had been going through a gangster phase, and it was much better than watching the endless media circus which seemed to swarm every channel, full of useless information about the Buddy Pine trials.

It had turned into a bigger sensation than anyone could have predicted, but apparently Pine had an iron fist on the media. There were cameras on his every move, and even though he was under house arrest for his own protection, there had been several attempts on his life. He treated everything like some big game, although as of late he had been less charming and more snappish, more and more fed up with the whole trial itself. Violet groaned and turned her brain off, instead absorbing the black, merciless eyes of Al Pacino as he fiddled with a cigarette. She wished she had half of his bravado, and even though he was a bad guy, she wished she had his cool.

___Ding dong!_  


Violet jumped, looking towards the door, hoping that it wasn't someone they knew. Maybe it was the Mrs. Johnson next door, a little old woman who occasionally gave them tasty treats because she had been baking. Violet listened as she heard her mother's confident tone falter, break under surprise. Who was it? She got to her feet and trailed into the next room, furrowing her brow at the hallway and her mother. "Mom, what –"

She didn't get farther than that.

There was a handsome fruit basket being held by her mother, a beautiful spiral of pineapple, cherries, grapes and more. Violet stared agape at her mother, who was just as confused as she. Helen set the small basket down and plucked the card from the side, turning it over.

"Who's that from?" Violet asked, coming closer. A crease appeared between Helen's brows, the kind that Violet knew was bad news. "What's the matter, Mom?"

"It's…for you," Helen said uncertainly. "From 'a secret admirer'."

Violet took the card from her mother's hands and stared at her, big purple eyes even wider. In a bold, firm hand written in all caps, were the words: To Violet: From your biggest fan and secret admirer. The card itself was a small, cream colored thing, roughly the size of a business card, and had been tucked into a little black plastic fork that was stuck into a chunk of pineapple. It was a pretty little fruit basket, with curved skewers laden with succulent fruits – someone knew she had a sweet tooth. Violet looked up at her mother. "I don't know what this is," She said slowly.

Helen had raised her daughter not to lie. It was one of the things that kept her continually worried about her oldest child, since she knew whenever her daughter was lying about her situation at school. And right now, she could see that her teenaged girl was just as confused as she was. "I wouldn't touch it, Vi," Helen said firmly. "Not until we can get your father to take a look at it. What with all this stuff going on about the trial…"

"But nobody knows who we are," Violet said, her brows knotting together. "Not our true identities. What…?"

She looked up at her mother, an unsaid question in her eyes._  
_

___So who knows our secret…?_

* * *

_**A/N:** __Hey everyone! Sorry for the HUUUUGE delay, I've been waxing poetic and thinking the bottom of a bottle of Chardonnay could write this chapter for me. ^^ Anyway, this is another one of those chapters I wrote in fifteen minute chunks, so I feel like it's really clunky and not that smooth. :/ Oh well. At least it's DONE. XD  
Oh, and BONUS COOKIES to the person who can find the crossover pairing hidden in this chapter! XD_


	5. Scared

**Chapter Five**

* * *

**From: **  
**To:** sylphinshadows  
**Subject:** You Still Alive?

_Dear Friend,_

_I haven't heard from you in a few days. If I don't hear from you within a week I'm going to wind up on your doorstep. Just saying._

_Yours,_  
_Engineer_

* * *

**From:** sylphinshadows  
**To:**  
**Subject:** Re: You Still Alive?

_Dear Engineer,_

_I'm still alive, don't come after me! School's been tough lately, and I haven't had much time to be online. Plus, my mother's kinda worried since I've been getting weird stuff in the mail._

_Sincerely,_  
_Shadows_

* * *

**From: **  
**To:** sylphinshadows  
**Subject:** Re: Re: You Still Alive?

_Dear Friend,_

_I still have that rocket, if you're interested in school. What kind of things in the mail? Nothing disturbing, I hope?_

_Yours,_  
_Engineer_

* * *

**From:** sylphinshadows  
**To:**  
**Subject:** Re: Re: Re: You Still Alive?

_Dear Engineer,_

_Just silly things. I got a Valentine's day card yesterday, and a little stuffed bear. And a dozen roses last week. My dad's taken stuff to his friends, but they can't find out who's sending them. It's a little creepy._

_Sincerely,_  
_Shadows_

_P.S. I may take you up on that rocket._

* * *

**From: **  
**To:** sylphinshadows  
**Subject:** Re: Re: You Still Alive?

_Dear Friend,_

_Here's how to make them less creepy: pretend they're from me._

_Yours,_  
_Engineer_

* * *

She put her hands over her mouth and tried not to scream with a mixture of delight and terror.

Violet slammed the lid of her laptop shut, breathing hard. Her heart had skyrocketed when she read Engineer's latest email, which had come almost as quickly as she had sent her last one. He frightened her sometimes when he said things like that, and he said them often. But the best kind of frightened, like getting a little jolt of electricity from someone you liked. It was getting so risky, talking online to a virtual stranger, but whenever Violet thought about giving it up she broke out into a cold sweat. No, she needed Engineer – she needed his humor, his dark wit, and she needed someone to talk to. Nowadays, what with things getting so crazy about the trial and all of those weird things coming in the mail, Violet had felt more and more alone. Especially at school.

Oh, _God,_ things at school had been horrible.

Tony hadn't invited her to the party, of course, and in retaliation Amber had thrown her all into tormenting Violet. Within two weeks, Violet found herself divested of all of her books and with a locker that had been defaced with spray paint. Someone had bumped her deliberately hard in the cafeteria two days ago, and somehow managed to slosh an entire glass of orange juice on her face. It had been a cold and sticky afternoon, but nothing physical. Nothing physical _yet_. Dash had started noticing things, and even though Violet had begged him not to tell their parents, both Helen and Bob had been paying unnaturally close attention to their daughter.

Sometimes she wished Amber would slap her. Then she could grab a handful of that thick brown hair and wrap a shield around her, and then bowl her into a wall and see how she liked it. Violet's fingers made angry fists as she curled in the corner of her bed. She cuddled the soft white plush bear that had come with the Valentine's day card, and wished she knew who was sending her these things. The idea that it could be Engineer sending them made her stomach do a terrified little flip; one, that would mean he knew her address. But two, that would mean he cared enough about her to send her things...

Like a dozen red roses.

Her father had brought most of the items down to E, who had called in a few contacts and came up with the information that there were no unknown fingerprints on the packages. It was as though a hole in the sky had opened and dropped the things on their front stoop – they were always paid for in cash, and they were commonplace enough to make finding the original owners difficult.

Violet rolled over and looked out the window. A big sickle moon was rising over the houses, and she felt a lump in her throat.

How awful. She didn't even know who this person was, and yet he kept sending her things.

It could be Tony.

That idea brought a pleasant little glow to her cheeks, along with a stab of pain to her belly. Tony would never spend that kind of money on her, especially not when he had his hands full with his tyrannical little sister. Their parents were going through a messy divorce, and the children were the main cause of their tug of war. Amber had reacted especially badly, turning her popularity at school into a powerful little throne to sit on. Violet sniffed and tried not to think. She didn't want to think.

Her mind wandered. What did Engineer look like? A dozen times she had almost included a picture of herself, and a dozen times she had stopped, scared and nervous. How could she ask him what he looked like without even returning the favor? No, she decided, it would be fine this way. They had a good thing going.

There was a tap on the door. "Vi?"

"Yeah?" Violet hissed, turning over. It was Dash, peeking his head around the door.

He sounded worried, which for Dash was an unusual and concerning thing. "You need to come see this..." He said in a whisper. "Don't wake up Mom and Dad."

Violet crept out of bed, tugging her sleep shirt a little farther over her knees, and followed Dash to his bedroom. The tousled blond honestly looked scared of something, and Violet prepared herself to squash another spider or something. Instead, he shut his bedroom door quietly behind them, and sat on his bed, sliding a thin black rectangle out from beneath his pillow. He gave it to Violet, who put it on her lap, and then added, "I found it in my backpack today. Someone must've put it in." He said in a half-whisper.

She turned the thing over and examined it. To her, it looked like a small touchscreen, about the size of her palm, but it was razor thin and didn't seem to have any working electronics or a back panel to open. She was about to see if she could pry it apart with her fingernails when she made the mistake of touching it with her thumb to see if the screen would activate.

The screen glowed to life, and she nearly dropped it.

"Greetings," Said a firm, sharp female voice. Both Violet and Dash gasped, and Violet picked up the touchscreen with shaking hands. "I am Chronosight, the daughter of Gazerbeam. You have been contacted because you're the child of a superhero."

She was pretty enough – a thick blonde ponytail kept her hair out of her round face, and there was a harlequin mask obscuring her identity. Her supersuit was bright green streaked with silver, and it spiraled upwards against her neck. Still, something about her seemed vaguely familiar, and she had inherited Gazerbeam's piercing golden eyes. She looked about fourteen to Violet. "As you most likely know, there is a public menace undergoing trial," Chronosight continued, and an image of Buddy Pine mugging for the cameras flashed on the screen. "It has been confirmed by many sources that he will be acquitted and remain a threat to society and humanity as we know it." She stumbled over the word _humanity_, making it clear for a moment that she was very young.

"It is up to us, fellow supers, to take him down quickly and quietly."

Her golden eyes burned into Dash and Violet.

"My father was one of Syndrome's victims. He left me and my mother without a father or a husband. I will not rest until he is stopped. Our parents have vowed justice, but they won't harm a hair on his head. So it is up to us to do something that our parent's are unable to follow through with. I ask you, fellow super – will you join me?"

The screen faded to black, and in silver metallic letters flashed on the screen: _Saturday, at Retroville Public Warehouse, 9:00. Attend the meeting if you want to help us._

Both Dash and Violet sat perfectly still as the screen died away.

"What do we do?" Dash said under his breath.

"We should tell Mom and Dad," Violet said immediately.

"We can't!" Dash whispered. "They said they wouldn't do anything against Syndrome unless he broke the law again!"

"So what, you want us to go to this place and meet up with a bunch of other kids who want to kill someone? Are you crazy?" Violet snapped.

"I wanna do something!" Dash spat back, his small face screwing up. "I wanna help. I'm sick of just knocking out bad guys and rescuing people, I wanna make a _difference_. Like Mom and Dad in the old days."

Violet swallowed. Dash's highly competitive nature was emerging again – he didn't want to just be a superhero, he wanted to be the _best_ superhero. And not only that, he got destructive when he was bored. The whole family had learned long ago that Dash needed goals.

"We'll ignore it," Violet said after a long silence. "I won't tell Mom and Dad if you promise me you won't go to that meeting."

Dash folded his arms.

"Do you want me to wake Dad up? I can, you know." Violet said, pressing further.

"Fine, fine," Dash muttered. "I won't go."

"Good. I'll get rid of this thing at school tomorrow." Violet said, tucking the touchscreen under her arm. "Get some sleep, Dash."

Her mind was starting to ache. They were going about this the wrong way. Killing people wasn't the goal of a superhero, it was _protecting_ people. But if Syndrome was acquitted, then thousands of people might be hurt. And it would be satisfying, she didn't doubt that; there would be a kind of beautiful justice to it all. He couldn't buy out vengeance. He had killed almost fifty superheroes, he had tortured her father, tried to kill their whole family, smiling the whole time...It wouldn't hurt Violet at all to hear he was dead.

She rested her hot head against the cool glass of her bedroom window.

_Engineer, I wish you were here._

* * *

**A/N:**_ And presto, we have plot! xD Sorry for the long delay in updates – tell me what you think in the comments below. 3_


	6. Advice

**Chapter Six: Advice**

* * *

**From:** sylphinshadows  
**To:**  
**Subject:** My Dilemma

Dear Engineer,  
I've decided to ask your advice after all. I'm sorry for being so mysterious in my last email, but I really do need help. Cou

_Your friend Engineer has requested a private chat. YES/NO  
_

Violet bit her lower lip and tried not to smile. He had an uncanny knack for knowing when she'd be online, and some soothing words from Engineer was exactly what she needed. The whole house was empty at the moment, and she was curled up in her room listening to music and had been composing an email to Engineer. He usually knew what to do, and she had been growing more and more trustful of him over the past few weeks. And the urge to include a picture of herself hadn't lessened at all, but her fear that her parents would somehow find out never faded.

She clicked 'yes', and a little chat window opened up.

**EngineerOverlord:** I had a feeling you'd be online.  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** Funny how that is. :)  
**EngineerOverlord:** You mentioned in your last email you had a question. If you haven't noticed, I'm good at advice. ;)  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** It's kind of a hard to pose in chat, actually...  
**EngineerOverlord:** Then take a deep breath and relax.

Buddy leaned back in his swivel chair and pulled his shirt off over his head. The judge had recessed the court for the afternoon, and further banned the media twenty five feet away from the courthouse. He was tired and feeling more than a little lazy. A half-drained bottle of Coors Light was on his nightstand near his elbow, and he balled up his dress shirt, tossing it into the corner of his bedroom. The supervillain had pillows propped behind him, and felt delightfully relaxed clad in an undershirt and sweatpants. Violet was proving more and more entertaining, and despite himself he was genuinely enjoying their chats. Of course, it was a massive ego stroke every time he read in between the lines of text and realized she was crushing on 'Engineer' pretty badly.

Well, couldn't say she had bad taste.

**Shadows_and_Shocks:** Without going into specifics, there's a meeting tomorrow night that's supposed to do something about an old enemy of mine. **EngineerOverlord:** Without going into specifics, that sounds pretty sinister.  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** LOL, it sounds that way, doesn't it?  
**EngineerOverlord:** Well, firstly, who's the enemy? School bully?  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** Please. I'm not that unimaginative.  
**EngineerOverlord:** I hoped not. ;) All right then, what's the "doing something" going to entail?

Violet swallowed and hugged her stuffed bear closer to her. This was where it got tricky – how could someone say there was a meeting of superhero children plotting to kill a public figure without sounding like a psychopath? She trusted Engineer, but she didn't trust him that much. Knowing she was a superhero would be too much power for anyone, not to mention giving away a secret meeting. She sighed, flexed her fingers, and started to type.

**Shadows_and_Shocks:** No specifics, remember?  
**EngineerOverlord:** So you can't tell me who the enemy is or what you plan to do with him, but you want my advice?  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** Oh, you make it sound like it's going to be difficult. :D  
**EngineerOverlord:** Fair enough. I am brilliant, after all.  
**EngineerOverlord:** Have you made up your mind whether or not to go to the meeting?  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** No. My brother really wants to go though.  
**EngineerOverlord:** So it's a family affair then?

He sat back, furrowing his brow. This could get messy. If the Incredibles were coming after him, then he would have to do something about his security. Right now, he was prepared for a medium-sized assault, but nothing with superpowers. At least, legally he wasn't prepared for anything with superpowers. Technology was easily hidden these days.

**Shadows_and_Shocks:** Of course not. I've been trying to discourage my brother from going.  
**EngineerOverlord:** But he's been persistent?  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** Actually, I'm thinking that this meeting may not be a bad thing.  
**EngineerOverlord:** The guy's that bad, huh?  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** Worse, actually.  
**EngineerOverlord:** Then what are you waiting for? Go to the meeting, kick his ass.  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** I have to worry about pesky things like morals, Engineer.  
**EngineerOverlord:** Why? If he's really all that bad, do something about it.

She groaned. It wasn't that simple. Syndrome needed to be taken out, but she wasn't sure she wanted to be the one to do it. Especially since one of the cardinal rules of being a superhero was only kill if absolutely necessary. And storming into Syndrome's house and killing him while he was unprepared was definitely not absolutely necessary. But there was that bitter little pocket beneath her heart that gave a delighted little surge when Engineer said do something about it. The supervillain had tortured her father, tried to kill her whole family, murdered dozens of innocent supers, and remained cocky and cheerful about the whole thing. Not to mention that stupid note in the courtroom, which she had discovered in her pocket and kept for reasons unknown.  
**  
Shadows_and_Shocks:** That's not my decision to make.  
**EngineerOverlord:** Look, Shocks, if you're not part of the solution you're part of the problem. You have the opportunity to set things right in your past. If he's an old enemy, what kept you back in the first place? You have the time and the talents, do something. You need to be impulsive for once in your life. I know you struggle with overthinking things, and for once I'd like to see you do what you really want to do.  
**Shadows_and_Shocks:** I really want to meet you.

Buddy nearly fell out of bed.

Violet felt her heart shoot to her throat, and she just barely bit back a scream.

**EngineerOverlord:** When?

No snarky response. No dark humor about blowing things up. Just a simple response to an idiotic, impulsive question that she couldn't believe she had written. But there it was, in little black words on the screen. What was wrong with her? He had written back so quickly, had he been thinking about it as much as she had?

**Shadows_and_Shocks:** I'm sorry I wrote that, I don't know what I was thinking.  
**EngineerOverlord:** I'm not sorry. When?

Buddy scraped a hand along his jaw, his blue eyes lit with a familiar passion and fire. A problem, that's what this was; a nice little puzzle to unwrap and relish. On the one hand, meeting Violet Parr as an equal would be an interesting proposition. On the other hand, he was rather liking their tit-for-tat, their little exchanges. It was almost like being the old him, the him that had been interested in superheroes and not in world domination.  
That old him didn't exist anymore though. If he met Violet Parr, he would destroy her.

So why was there an uncomfortable lump in his stomach?

**Shadows_and_Shocks:** I should get going, actually. Thanks for the advice.  
**EngineerOverlord:** Don't run off on me again, Shocks. I'll send you an email later.  
_Shadows_and_Shocks has left the chatroom_.

Violet shoved her laptop under her bed and paced around her bedroom, running a hand through her hair. What had she done? What if he was a psychopath? What if he liked her just as much as she liked him? What if he was old, or boring, or nothing like the Engineer she had...gotten a crush on? What if he tried to kill her, or kidnap her, or rape her? What if she disappeared and was never heard from again? What if it turned out to be a huge mistake?

_What if he's a charming, nice, handsome guy, now_ STOP _it, Violet!_

She bit her nails fiercely and then slammed a small purple forcefield against the doorframe.

What was wrong with her? What if this ruined everything?

* * *

"Are you okay, Vi – um, Invisigirl?"

Violet looked up, combing her long hair out of her face. She had forgotten her headband today, not to mention the zipper was broken on her left boot, which made it feel like she was about to lose her sock at any moment. Everything seemed to be going wrong at once, and even the fight with the burglar she had trapped beneath her had lasted much longer than usual. Her ribs ached from his multiple kicks, and she was pretty sure she had some nice bruises dotting her thighs.

"I'm fine," She sighed. "Just tired today, I guess." The burglar wiggled beneath her boot, and Violet knelt a little harder on his back. "Don't get fresh with me, big guy," She snapped. "Incredible Dash, go get the extra set of handcuffs."

Dash was back literally before she could blink. "Here you go," He said, and watched her curiously as she cinched the handcuffs around the burglar's back.

"Hey, Dash..." Violet stood and the two of them stepped outside of the art gallery amid the beeping alarms and rubble. She adjusted her silver visor, wishing she could bite her nails. "I've been thinking. Maybe we should go to that...thing tonight. Just to make sure it doesn't get out of hand."

"Are you serious?" Dash said, a grin growing on his face. His dimples appeared. "Seriously? That's totally awesome!"

"Keep it down!" Violet hissed, jerking his shoulder. "And it's not like we're going to help or anything. I just want to go and see what happens."

Dash didn't appear to be listening. He raced a dozen happy circles around Violet in a second, and then stopped suddenly. "So we're finally gonna do something! What changed your mind?"

A little smile and a blush appeared on Violet's face, thankfully hidden by most of her visor. "Advice from a friend."

* * *

**A/N:** I had to write this in fifteen minute spurts again, in between watching Knight and Day. So this is probably really scattered and not done very well, but whatever. X_X


	7. Secrets

**Chapter Seven: Secrets**

* * *

Violet had never snuck out of the house before.

It was a secret, thrilling experience, even though she was invisible. Getting out of the house was stupidly easy; she simply told her mother that she was going over Kari's house for a sleepover. Happy that her daughter was finally getting out of her bedroom and off her laptop, Helen agreed with a minimum of fuss. The hard part had been getting Dash out of the house too, since he had homework and his father riding on him pretty hard to get a better report card. So Violet stood invisibly out in the light drizzle for the better part of twenty minutes, waiting for Dash to finish his multiplication tables.

When the Incredible Dash finally emerged, he crept over to the hedges where Violet was hiding. "Piggyback?" He asked, and Violet chewed the inside of her lip.

"Fine," She sighed, threw a force field around the two of them. Violet set a foot on Dash's shoulder, her force field keeping her somewhat adrift, and concentrated. A swelling feeling of pins and needles flowed down her leg, and when she looked down to check, both her and Dash had completely disappeared. Piggyback was difficult to keep stable, but it worked for the most part if both of them needed to be invisible. Thankfully, most of Violet's slender weight was dispersed by the energy of the force field, leaving very little weight on Dash's back.

Dash propelled the force field forward and the two of them zipped off into the darkening night. Streetlamps clicked on in front of them, eerily synchronized, and Violet tried not to focus on the scenery. It was hard enough making two people invisible and keeping the force field intact, never mind worrying about streetlamps.

Twenty minutes later, in the scummy downtown area, they were hopelessly lost.

"I told you we should have followed Main Street longer!" Violet hissed.

"I know where I'm going, Miss Smartypants!" Dash snapped back.

"Keep your voice down, bozo, I don't want to attract any attention!"

"Nag, nag, nag, that's all you do."

Violet muttered a few choice phrases, and the two of them rolled around downtown, with Violet checking her watch every three seconds. They were cutting it pretty close. "Take a left," She ordered. "The warehouses are down by the ocean."

"Don't tell me where to go, I _know_ where I'm going!"

"You do not! Take a left right now, Dash!"

"_It's the Incredible Dash, get it right!"_

"Keep your voice down!"

Violet hauled the field to the left, and Dash's extraordinary speed cut out suddenly. She squeaked in alarm, and the force field dissolved in a wave of static when Dash braked hard, sending her flying. Both of them flickered suddenly into view. Violet hit the pavement hard, skidding several feet and scraping her cheek badly. Raw and stinging, but thanking E mentally since her supersuit absorbed most of the damage. Even so, the breath was knocked out of her and she spent the better part of thirty seconds gaining it back.

Dash hesitated, anger still furrowing his brow, and then concern broke over his face and he ran to his sister. "You okay?" He asked, trying to sound grudging.

Still clutching her breastbone, Violet swept her leg at Dash's knees and brought him down, pinning him effortlessly to the pavement in a forcefield. "What is your problem?" She snarled at him, her breathing reluctant and shallow. "You're the one who wanted to go tonight, and now all you're doing is wasting time!"

"I want to go! I thought iyou/i were the one who didn't want to go," Dash pouted, struggling against the purple energy fields against his wrists. "You were the chicken who wanted to tell Mom and Dad!"

"I'm the one who wants to be a little _smarter_ about all this!" Violet yelled. "Do you realize that this could send us to _jail_? Because it's _murde_r? This could take us away from Mom and Dad, send us to Juvenile Hall, where they'll make an example of us because we're supers! Do you know how much damage this could cause the entire superhero industry, just because of a bunch of dim-witted _kids_?"

"Only if we get caught!" Dash bit back.

"And what are the chances of us getting caught if you and I can't even _get _to the meeting without getting in a fight?"

"If you stayed home like you wanted to, none of this would have happened! I'm the one who wants to do this, I can do this on my own!"

"We're a team, Dash! Get it through your thick little head, we work together! We protect each other!"

The words hung in the air for a long moment, and for a while there was just the sound of rain. Finally, after a long few seconds, Violet dropped the force fields around Dash, and he got to his feet.

"I'm scared." He said finally, very quietly.

"Me too."

* * *

The warehouse was empty, damp, and full of yellow industrial lighting. Even from a distance, they could see the subtle movement from inside, and when Violet checked her watch she saw that they were actually five minutes late. She looked at Dash, biting her lower lip. "You still wanna go?" She asked. All cards were on the table – both of them were scared, and had trepidation about doing this. Once they crossed this line, there was no going back.

Dash set his face. "Yeah."

A group full of teenagers all stared at them as they walked inside, and Violet started to recognize them. Sonic Hammer, Acid Rain, Wondergirl, and one of her rivals, Huntress. The group of teenagers slowly relaxed when they recognized who it was, and Dash caught the gaze of Chronosight in her silver and green outfit. "The Incredible Dash," she called out. "I'm glad you could make it."

Violet furrowed her brow and resisted the urge to introduce herself. Chronosight beckoned them over, and the small group of teenagers clustered closer around her. She stood up on an old shipping crate to gain some height, and from this vantage point Violet could see how young she really was; she still had the straight, long limbed, almost androgynous body of a young teen. Then again, Violet was in no place to talk, since she was straight and long limbed herself.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush," Chronosight said firmly, her voice quiet but commanding. "I called everyone here because I want to assemble a team to go and take down a public menace. It will be our ultimate act of good for society, and it needs to be accomplished quickly and secretly. Right now, I'd like to hear any questions or concerns you may have."

"How large is your team?" Acid Rain asked – he was a short, crater-faced boy with liquid black eyes and dimples.

"I'll pick six of you to accompany me, which will make a team of seven. No excess on this mission, it has to be flawless." Chronosight replied.

"What's your intel?" Huntress wanted to know, tossing her thick brown ponytail. Tonight, that voice seemed familiar in more ways than one; Violet had trouble cross-referencing it.

"I have blueprints to Syndrome's house, and a friend of mine is getting the security codes. He's placed bugs all over Syndrome's residence, so we should have eyes and ears at all times." She said, tapping the thick manilla envelope she was carrying. "He'll never know what's coming."

Several of the members fidgeted uncomfortably.

She noticed this, and said stridently, "If any of you are having second thoughts, you can leave now with no judgment from us. I don't want any second thoughts." Chronosight paused, and then added, "If it's troubling you, none of you will actually be in direct contact with Syndrome. That's my job, as team leader."

Violet spoke for the first time. "So you'll be the one killing him?"

The whole crowd winced at the word kill, except Chronosight. Those burning gold eyes flicked to Violet, and she nodded. "Yes, I will. Do you have a problem with that, Invisigirl?"

Violet cringed a little, but summed up the courage Invisigirl had in great supply. "Of course not. I was just wondering."

"Good. I was hoping there wasn't a problem. Because last I heard, Syndrome seemed pretty friendly with you in the courtroom a while ago."

She flushed crimson instantly. "That was nothing. He was being cruel, as always."

Dash looked as his sister questioningly. When he had asked her about it, she had dismissed the note as nonsense, but apparently something serious had passed between Syndrome and his sister. His anger against the supervillain deepened.

"I hope it's nothing," Chronosight said tightly. She turned back to face the crowd. "How many of you are willing to volunteer?"

Three hands shot up instantly, and a few others more slowly. Chronosight counted and saw that more than half of them were unwilling to go on the mission. Her lips pursed. "All right. Acid Rain, the Incredible Dash, Huntress, Bugboy, Sonic Hammer, and Wondergirl will make up my team. I'd like to have a word with all of you privately."

Violet was stunned. She hadn't been picked? A curious sensation of relief and disappointment washed over her, but Dash screwed his face up. "Invisigirl is the other half of the Dynamic Duo," He said in his gruff, fake, superhero voice. "We work together."

He glanced at his sister and gave her a small smile.

Chronosight looked at Violet evenly. "Frankly, I think I'd prefer you on my team, Dash. You alone. Your partner, although talented, would be unsuited for this mission."

"She can turn freaking invisible!" Dash insisted.

She got off the crate and stepped up to Dash, lowering her voice. "But she doesn't have your fire. I need your passion, Dash, in case something goes wrong."

"So basically, you can't trust me," Violet said, meeting Chronosight's gaze. Those speckled gold eyes seemed to grow huge and bright, swimming in her vision.

"I don't need you on my team, Invisigirl," Chronosight said in a deep murmur.

"You don't need me on your team," Violet mumbled. Her mind was thickening, her thoughts slowing down to a crawl. Where was she?

"Stop it!" Dash cried out, and suddenly the world flexed back into focus with a snap. Violet staggered, and Chronosight turned her attention to Dash. "If you want me, she comes too," Dash said determinedly.

Sonic Hammer coughed. "I'll step down," He said in a cracking voice that was clearly going through puberty. "Let Invisigirl go."

Chronosight looked around and then set her jaw, knowing she was outnumbered. "Fine," She sighed under her breath. "It looks like I have my team, then."

* * *

**A/N:** _OH GOD THIS CHAPTER SUCKS_


	8. Plans

**Chapter Eight: ****Plans**

* * *

"Happy birthday to you...happy birthday to you...happy birthday, dear Violet..."

Violet stared down at the seventeen candles circling her birthday cake. Her mother had an innate knack for knowing when her daughter needed a chocolate fix, and Violet couldn't resist sucking some frosting off her finger. Sweet, thick, and creamy – the perfect birthday cake. Balloons were tied to the back of her chair, and there were three prettily wrapped presents stacked on the kitchen counter. Sunlight streamed through the open windows.

But there was a lead cannonball in her stomach.

Tonight, of all nights, was the day Chronosight had picked to storm Buddy's house. The night of her birthday.

Violet could have cried. It was perfect, she had the best excuse out of the whole team. It was her birthday, and she wanted a night out with some friends. Her father hadn't been happy, but relaxed when Violet was more than willing to have Dash come with her. So the two of them had some excuses for their parents, which was good – after all, if everything went as planned, then the whole operation would take less than an hour.

"Make a wish, honey!"

Violet closed her eyes.

_Keep my brother safe._

She blew out the candles.

* * *

The night was muggy, thick with humidity, and heavy with unshed rain. The night was almost perfectly black, with no stars or moon overhead to cast light. Dash's flickering fire suit had been set aside for his old Incredibles suit, which was quieter and would attract less attention. The siblings said nothing to each other as they suited up, Dash wrapping a snakelike headset around his ears, and Violet tapping her visor to tune into the channel of communication Chronosight had set up. They raced down the street, swift and silent, their footsteps muffled by Violet's forcefield.

_This is the right thing to do_.

Taking an innocent life? Don't be stupid, he was far from innocent. He had the blood of dozens of supers on his hands.

_This is the right thing to do._

It was cold-blooded murder. But it needed to be done – he would slip through the system's fingers. He had too much money to be indicted.

_This is the right thing to do._

Supers shouldn't kill. Plenty of them did, though, and when it came down to it, did it count as a sin if you were killing to protect? Preemptive killing, as it were?

_This is the right thing to do...right?_

* * *

"This is Bugboy, mic check. Test test test. One, two, three."

"Wondergirl, patrolling east side."

"Invisigirl, reporting for duty."

"The Incredible Dash, fit as a fiddle!"

"Huntress, over."

"Acid Rain, checking in."

"Good. We're all here. This is Chronosight. Report to the front gate, over and out."

The seven superheros gathered at the beginning of Buddy Pine's long gravel driveway. There were cameras everywhere – Violet counted the little red lights surrounding the property. She felt completely exposed, even though she was sure they were out of range of the cameras. Dash stepped forward. "Just as we planned?" he asked, looking towards Chronosight.

Chronosight didn't look well, at least not to Violet. Her thick blonde curls were pulled back in a ponytail, as usual, but her hair was tangled. Maybe it was just the light, but it looked greasy, too. Her golden eyes were visible even in the darkness, and Violet got the eerie realization that she had catlike eyes that reflected light. They burned with anticipation, and the gloved hands that were holding the blueprints were shaking slightly.

"Invisigirl, you're in charge of knocking out all of those cameras," Chronosight whispered. "Once you're inside the compound, find the main power source. It should be in the basement. Put this into it." She handed Violet a flash drive, which she stuck into one of the many pockets of her superhero suit. "That will give us control over the cameras, alarm systems, everything. Give the signal when you've completed this."

Violet nodded.

"Huntress, we need you to be our eyes in the sky. Get to the roof quickly, take out any guards you see. Non-lethal, if possible."

"Of course," Huntress responded, smirking behind her narrow black mask. She strung her bow archly.

"Acid Raid, I want you to put a shield around this compound as soon as Invisigirl knocks out those cameras. I don't want any outside help coming in, you got it?"

"Um, we've talked about this," Acid spoke up, tugging at his ear. "Putting a shield around the whole compound...that's a lot of power. I mean, it's a really muggy night, so that will help, but physically I can only do something like that for...well, ten minutes or so."

"That's fine," Chronosight said dismissively. "This won't take long. Bugboy, you're in charge of those computers. You brought the laptop, correct?"

The wiry boy grinned wolfishly. "Yep. Once Invisigirl gets that flash drive in there, I should be all set."

"Good. Incredible Dash, you're with me. You take out anyone we come across, anyone that would slow us down. We need to be fast and silent. Understood?"

"Understood," they all murmured.

"I'll see you back here in twenty minutes. Invisigirl, you're up."

Violet cracked her knuckles, and then Invisigirl melted away into the darkness. Time for the professionals to come out and play.

* * *

The gravel crunched underfoot as she sprinted up the path, feeling wholly exposed to all the nasty little red lights. There were large streetlights marking the way towards the compound, but everything was deathly silent. She was winded by the time she reached the top of the hill where the compound was, and started scouting around for an opening to the house. She couldn't just break a window, as that would cause noise, and she couldn't open a door as she was certain it would set off alarms.

She slunk through the compound, ignoring two policemen who sat in the car, one of the asleep, the other barely awake. There were bodyguards strung out around the property, some drinking coffee, others smoking cigarettes, some of them sleeping. Violet avoided all of them and crept closer towards the house, circling it. The basement hatchway was locked, which reduced her first plan to ash, but just before she stood up to look for a skylight, she saw...

Was that...?

An open basement window propped considerately open with a stick.

Alarm bells rang out in her head. This was easy. Way, way too easy.

Lithe and silent, Violet slid into the basement, her boots making little noise on the floor. It was a finished basement, and she found herself facing a giant screen TV with a leather couch in front of it. Something large loomed in the darkness, and it was only after she'd bumped into it when she realized it was a pool table. At the far end of the basement, there was a chain link fence separating off a section.

Bingo.

The gate was unhelpfully locked, and Violet took out her multiverse tool to help pick it. It took thirty seconds with the battery fully charged, and Violet made a mental note to ask E for a new one. This one was getting slow.

She set foot in the cordoned off section, her sharp eyes spotting rows and rows of generators.

There was a low, thunderous growl.

Turning very slowly, she saw a Rottweiler glaring at her, fangs exposed in the darkness.

"Nice doggy..."

* * *

A high scream cut through Dash's headset mic.

"Violet?" he cried. "Violet, what's the matter?"

"Inisigirl, do you copy?" Chronosight asked. There was no response, besides rushing static and intermittence. "Invisigirl! Do you copy?"

More intermittence.

"I've gotta go up there!" Dash said, wheeling around. Chronosight dug her fingers into his upper arm, yanking him back.

"Don't you dare!" she hissed. "There's cameras, you'll be seen!"

"I'm too fast for that!" Dash retorted. "Let go of me!"

"I've waited too long for this plan to be ruined," Chronosight snarled. "You will _follow_. _The. Plan_. Do you understand me?"

Dash jerked away from her. "Your plan changed when my sister lost contact," he spat. "I'm getting my teammate out of there."

He took off in a blur of speed.

* * *

Her arm throbbed. Thankfully, E's suit had resisted any damage from the dog bite, but there would most likely be some heavy bruising along her forearm before the night was out. The Rottie was fast asleep, drooling on the floor, a tranquilizer dart stuck in its shoulder. She hadn't had the heart to kill it, and was intensely grateful that she was equipped to take a mark out with minimal pain. The attack dog would most likely wake up with a headache, but that couldn't be helped. Violet felt incredibly lucky, but her forearm felt as though it was filled with wasps. She needed to get the flash drive into the terminal before anything else happened.

"Chronosight, do you copy?" she asked.

Disturbing amounts of dead air.

_Follow the plan_.

She jammed the flash drive into a USB port and waited for the blink red light to stay on. Good, that was one thing done. Still trembling from fear and adrenaline, Violet went back to the basement window from which she had entered.

It was closed.

Heart in her mouth, she pushed against it, only to discover it was locked from the outside.

Had a guard happened by and seen the window? Had Chronosight betrayed her? A more frightening thought crossed her mind – what if someone knew she was here?

She tried all the small, narrow basement windows, to discover all of them were locked. There was a flight of stairs leading up into the mansion, but she couldn't risk going up there. Even invisible, the cameras would see a door opening and closing. Unless the cameras were taken out already? She had no idea. Her mic was still dead.

How could she send the signal if she was trapped in the basement?

* * *

Dash sped up to the compound and hesitated for a split second – no matter how fast he ran, the guards would still sense some kind of disturbance in the air in front of him. Knowing Syndrome's paranoia, the guards were probably expecting some kind of superhero attack. He zipped around the compound, skirting the edges, his blue eyes straining in the darkness for any sign of Violet. Was she already inside then?

"Incredible Dash, do you c-"

His mic went abruptly dead.

"Chronosight?" he whispered into his headset. "Hello?"

Nothing.

* * *

"Change of plan," Chronosight said abruptly. "We go through the compound as though there are no cameras. We'll wipe the tapes on our way out, but we have to be fast and not leave any prints. Do you understand?"

"How are we going to communicate without any headsets?" Huntress snapped.

Chronosight wheeled around, glaring straight at Huntress. "Bugboy is working on that. We'll be fine, right, Bugboy?"

"There's some kind of jammer," Bugboy said, not looking up from his laptop. "It's somewhere in the compound. It needs to be switched off."

"Right," Huntress pinched the bridge of her nose. "What does this jammer thingamabob look like?"

"A gray flat box, probably six inches long," Bugboy muttered. "Um, probably with a scrolling light. Like a loading sign."

"I'll go and see if I can find the jammer. It's probably in his office somewhere." Huntress said, overriding Chronosight. "Acid, make that shield, I'm gonna go in there and make some noise. I don't want anyone getting out, you got it?"

"Huntress!" Chronosight seethed, stepping up to her. "Look at me!"

"I don't think so," Huntress looked at her boots. "Keep those freaky eyes to yourself, okay, sweetie? I'm gonna go in there and show these boys a good time." She drew an arrow from her quiver.

Chronosight's gloved hand shot out and grabbed Huntress's braid, twisting her head and forcing her to look into her eyes. "You will follow my orders," Chronosight said between clenched teeth. Her golden eyes were luminescent, the pupils dilated and focused.

"I will follow your orders," Huntress said slowly.

"Whatever I say, you will do."

"Whatever you say, I will do."

"Go to the roof and follow my previous command. Make sure no one sees you."

"Yes, ma'am." Huntress saluted and took off down the path.

Acid Rain and Bugboy looked at her, astonished. Chronosight combed her bangs out of her eyes and expelled a breath. "Any other questions, boys?"

"No, ma'am," both of them said in unison.

* * *

Violet padded up the stairs and twisted the doorknob. It was unlocked. Every nerve in her body was on high alert, ears wide for any creaky floorboards or alarm buzzes. She had to get to a window, or at least outside, so she could send up the flare signal. Invisible, she padded down the hallway, trying not to look at the art on the walls or pay attention to the inordinately expensive furniture. Buddy Pine was a billionaire, something she was made aware of as she stepped delicately around his belongings.

She was given unwanted little glimpses of his personal life. A shirt, tossed onto the floor in the living room. A magazine crumpled in the trashcan. A well worn, dog-eared copy of _Ender's Game_ lay on the coffee table; a lava lamp glowed softly.

Her resolve quavered.

Every window and every door had a small beeper alarm waiting like frozen crickets. She couldn't get out. She was trapped inside Syndrome's mansion.

She nearly screamed when Buddy Pine shuffled past her.

He looked tired. The line of his shoulders was angled down, his head slumped to his chest, and even from behind she saw the weary shuffle of his feet. His hair was a little longer, and he was a little scruffy around the jaw; he yawned ferociously, and then swept his fingers through his hair.

The billionaire flopped down on the couch, face in a pillow, and Violet had to bite her lip to keep her hyperventilating breaths from increasing. He was so close.

She could kill him.

But then he turned his head, and he looked such like a sleepy little boy with freckles on his nose and his hair tousled...

"You can stop being invisible, Violet," he murmured, eyes still closed. "I've had enough of the games."

In his hands, she noticed belatedly, was a silver remote.

* * *

_A/N: And so it begins...The beginning of the action. I'm so nervous about these next few chapters, and hopefully they'll come more quickly than this last one. Keep reading, everyone, and I hope you enjoy! :D_


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